


Remix, Cover, Repeat

by Texan_Red_Rose



Series: RWBY RWKS AU [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Rock Band, F/F, Multi, Nonbinary Character, Polyamory, RWBY Rock
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-18
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-08-03 17:41:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16330640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Texan_Red_Rose/pseuds/Texan_Red_Rose
Summary: Forty years ago, the rock band known as RWKS took the world by storm. Now, their children are trying to steal their thunder as the new band RWBY... or follow in their footsteps- some days, it's hard to tell which.





	Remix, Cover, Repeat

**Author's Note:**

> Not to be confused with the RWBY Rock AU that includes "Right With You" and "The Right to Rock Steady". This is a completely separate AU because I can and I’m terrible.

Weiss sighed, frustrated, while marking out the line for the sixth time. Song writing, as it turned out, managed to be one of her strong points… however, that somehow didn’t make things easy, which one would  _think_  to be heresy given her upbringing. Trying to maintain a distinctive sound while also blatantly calling back to the self proclaimed Queens of Rock provided distinctive challenges- all of which she’d overcome in the past, of course, but not without considerable effort. She just hadn’t found the right inspiration for this song, the words remaining jumbled just out of reach, trapped beneath a frozen sheet of ice.

“Having trouble?” The smell of lavender and honey mint preceded the warm body pressing against her side, gently coaxing her into sitting forward so they could slip behind, a cup of piping hot tea held in each hand. Blake somehow managed to achieve their new position sitting behind Weiss on the couch without spilling a single drop, the bassist always having such excellent balance and rhythm. “Need some help?”

“I’m trying to rewrite one of my mother’s most famous songs. So unless you can figure out a fresh spin on ‘ _Alone on the Mountain’,_ I’m afraid there’s not much you can do for me.” She sighed again, rubbing at her temple and accepting the cup hot honey mint tea while setting aside her pad of paper for the moment. Inhaling deeply, the aroma filled her lungs and soothed her just as much as the arm wrapping around her waist. “Though… this  _is_  a good start.”

“I know what you like.” Blake purred, taking a sip of their own tea and humming thoughtfully. “Speaking of, did you… think more about what we were talking about the other day?”

Licking her lips, she tilted her head to the side and smiled as the Faunus lightly teased along her neck with teeth and tongue. It occurred to the singer that she should just give her answer- because she’d dedicated a night or two to mulling the idea over- but she rather liked the way her lover chose to try stacking the deck in their favor, so she allowed it to continue a bit longer. “Hmmm, my memory fails me. What did we talk about?”

“You know,” they replied, kissing her just beneath her ear. “But if I need to say it-”

“Hey! Popsicle! Front desk says you got a visitor coming up!” A gruff, rude voice shattered her enjoyment of Blake’s ministrations and brought an immediate scowl to her features.

She’d made several significant decisions in her twenty-five years. She’d opted to idolize her mother’s raw talent as the lead singer in a rock band, she’d chosen to not only follow in the woman’s footsteps but ultimately surpass her, she’d decided that teaming up with other children of similar fame would be the best way to do it, but she did  _not_  pick the manager of RWBY. Somehow- as the man half shuffled, half stumbled into the main room of the hotel suite- it remained the only decision she regretted, even if it wasn’t hers. “Qrow, that’s impossible; I have no friends outside the band as you so eloquently remind me every few days.”

“Didn’t say you were  _friends_.” He curled his fingers around the word, then shrugged. “Just figured you’d wanna talk to her. She came all this way. Should be up in a few minutes.”

“That’s not helpful in the slightest and I swear if you scheduled me for another interview when we clearly- hey!” She sat up a little straighter, noticing that Qrow seemed uninterested in her objections and more concerned with grabbing his coat. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Anywhere but  _here_.” He grumbled, checking his pocket for his flask and a pack of cigarettes. “Like hell I’m gonna subject myself to  _two_ of you headaches.”

A cold shiver went down her spine as Blake jumped a little in their spot, both of them pulling away enough to look at each other in complete confusion.

“RWKS just played in Atlas last night; there’s no way they could’ve made it to Vacuo this fast, right?” The Faunus’ ears pinned back against their skull. “Then again, knowing Willow-”

“My mother would bend the laws of space and time  _just_  to spite me.” She started running her hands through her hair, trying to fix it into something somewhat presentable after setting her tea on the nearest flat surface while the hotel room door banged shut, Qrow shuffling off to who-knew-where. “What could she possibly want? To gloat about RWKS’ sold out tour? Ours is sold out as well!”

“You know she only needles you because she never learned how to motivate properly,” Blake said, though they dropped their line of logic when she shot them a heated look. “I’m just saying, maybe this is a good thing.”

“It most certainly isn’t and I- wait.” Her brows furrowed, looking towards the door. “She should’ve been here by now.”

“She can’t  _actually_  bend-”

“Sh sh, no, I know what I’m talking about; Mother never gives warning when she intends on making an entrance. She would’ve asked Summer our room number and called Qrow from the elevator, if at all.  _This_  person stopped by the front desk.” Eyes narrowed in suspicion, Weiss watched the door while mentally running through a checklist of every person who could conceivably get to a rock band’s hotel room merely by asking, which proved to be a very short list. If it wasn’t Willow- or any other member of RWKS- then it had to be- “Oh.”

_thump thump thump_

Quickly, she went to the door and pulled it open, surprised and shocked to find that the last thought to pop into her head of who her mystery visitor could be actually proved true.

“Please, either invite me in or slam the door in my face,” Winter said, that stubborn lilt to her voice that always appeared when she was fighting against everything to hold something back as big a tell as the pinch to her expression and her heavy lean against the door frame. “Just pick one.”

“Oh, get in here!” Although hesitant, she wrapped an arm around her sister’s waist and helped her into the hotel room, Blake popping up off the couch and rushing over with a chair from the little dining table in the corner. Aside from periodic letters, she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Winter in almost ten years, when the woman got into that huge fight with Mother and subsequently stormed off to join the military. “What happened to you?”

“I mentioned in my last letter that the training exercise I participate in every year had started up again, didn’t I?” With a weary sigh that seemed borne of weeks or months rather than the short trek from door to chair, Winter dropped down into it with all the boneless grace of a ragdoll, a thin sheen of sweat on her brow. “I’m afraid things… didn’t go quite as well this time around.”

“You sent that letter  _months_  ago!” Weiss fretted, unsure what she could do or say to give her elder sister some comfort. However, before she could start making suggestions, she caught the awkward way Winter’s pant leg clung to her knee, the fabric tight enough for her to make out the distinct shape. “Your leg…”

“Both of them, actually.” Reaching down, she tugged at her slacks enough to pull them up, past her ankles- or, rather, past the ankle joints on her prosthetic legs. “Some  _idiot_  left a humvee in neutral and I couldn’t jump clear in time. Mainly because I was busy pushing my dumbass Lieutenant out of the way. And  _then_ , the damned thing couldn’t get started, and the whole platoon had to push it off me- I chewed the whole lot of them out for the whole twenty minutes before the medics could get me onto a transport.”

For a moment, she silently processed her sister’s frustration and relief. Then, she allowed her impressive lungs to go to work. “YOU LOST  _BOTH_ YOUR LEGS AND DIDN’T BOTHER TO  _CALL_ ME _?_ ”

“Well, ever since you mentioned starting a band with Ruby, Blake, and Yang, I assumed your schedule would be too busy to come check on your runaway sister.” Winter’s eyes twitched as she sighed. “I really should’ve taken the pain killers when they offered them.”

“How long have you been discharged from the hospital?” Blake appeared, subtly rubbing at Weiss’ back in an effort to calm her while offering the elder Schnee a cup of tea. “Shouldn’t you be in physical therapy still if you’re in this much pain?”

“I got discharged from the military before they fitted me for the prosthetics.” Accepting the cup, she took a long, deep pull of the hot liquid without even noticing the temperature. “After that, I got… asked to leave the rehabilitation center last week.”

“What did you  _do_?” Weiss set her hands on her hips, glaring at her sister’s flippant shoulder shrug.

“I threw a medicine ball at my physical therapist.”

Blake’s ears twitched. “One of the hollow ones?”

“… no, the heaviest one I could find.”

“Dust damnit, Winter, you need medical help! Are you even properly healed yet?” She knelt down, examining the prosthetics her sister used. “What sort of pain are you feeling right now? Is it pressure from the anchors, have you just been pushing yourself too far, is it phantom limb pain- what kind is it?”

The woman’s expression pinched further and forming a sour frown. “How do you know all that? Did you somehow know about this beforehand?”

Her eyebrows rose in surprise a moment before realization dawned, pressing her lips into a thin line. “When Mother said you shouldn’t bother keeping up with us, you took that to heart, didn’t you?”

“I send you letters.” Her shoulders fell. “But I don’t follow any of the news about you, no.”

“Well-”

Without any warning, the hotel room door clicked a moment before it burst open, Yang barging in with a bottle of liquor in each hand. “What’s up, bitch, bastard, and fucker! We’re getting- oh, shit, please tell me that’s not your Mom, Weiss.”

Rolling her eyes, she waved a dismissive hand at the blonde drummer. “Calm down; it’s Winter.”

“Winter? Really?” Lilac eyes sparkled as she dropped the liquor on the counter and came around. “It’s been forever and a day! How ya been?”

“I… uh…” Somehow, the salty frustrations formerly splayed across her sister’s expression disappeared, melting seamlessly into a carefully guarded neutral expression that still didn’t manage to hide her surprise. “I’m-”

It probably had a little something to do with the yellow and black metal that functioned as Yang’s arm from about the middle of her bicep down, the woman glancing at it and laughing. “Oh, you didn’t hear? I’m not as handy as I used to be! Still good in a pinch, though.”

“Yang, no matter how many times you try to tell that joke, it’s  _still_  not funny!” Ruby complained, a faint dusting of red across her cheeks as she entered the hotel room, followed closely by Pyrrha and Velvet, the band’s dedicated instrument and sound technicians. “Couldn’t you- whoa, is that Winter?”

“Hello, Ruby.” She raised a hand in greeting, seemingly recovering her ability to speak- and Weiss’ eyes immediately narrowed in suspicion at that. “My, you’ve grown since I last saw you.”

“Yeah, it’s been a while!” Rushing forward, she gave Winter a hug. When she pulled away, though, silver eyes darted to Pyrrha and her blush returned in full force before she turned away. “I’ll, uh, catch up with you later! I kinda… need a nap right now.”

Without waiting for anything further, the lead guitarist of the group ducked off to one of the bedrooms in the suite, closing the door behind her.

Blake sighed. “I’m guessing it didn’t go well.”

“She got real close, but couldn’t pull the trigger.” Yang sighed, reaching over and putting a hand on Pyrrha’s shoulder. “I’m afraid you’re gonna have to make the first move, P-money. Our fearless leader has met her match when it comes to confessing that you’re the bee’s knees.”

For her part, the redhead let out a nervous chuckle. “I’m… not so sure you’re right about this.”

“Trust us; we’re right,” the three remaining members of RWBY said in tandem, ranging from amused to bored in tone.

“Well…”

“Hey.” Velvet smiled, offering a cheeky wink. “Maybe you should go check on her. We spent most of the day walking around. See if she needs any water.”

“That… seems reasonable.” Pyrrha eventually nodded, moving to follow Ruby into the bedroom.

The drummer laughed, flashing a wide smile at the rabbit Faunus. “Velvs, you’re the best roadie.”

“I know,” she replied, heading over to the kitchen area to do… who knew what. Honestly, Weiss had bigger fish to fry at present, but she trusted the Faunus.

“Hey, you know what’d be great?” Yang suddenly piped up, heading over to rummage through one of Qrow’s bags in the corner. No matter how much she’d tried to emphasize it, the singer had lost every battle to get the bandmates and support staff to be even the slightest bit organized. “Ah, here we are!” She pulled out a lanyard with a familiar card at the end. “Here, Winter, it’s a VIP pass! Gets you backstage and  _primo_  seats; you gotta come see us play tomorrow night.”

“I- are you sure?” Although feigning hesitation, the woman immediately accepted the pass when it was handed to her. 

“Hell yeah! I mean, we’re the best show in Remnant. You gotta give us a chance to prove it!” 

“Well, I… can’t really turn that down.”

“That’s the spirit!” Yang chuckled, rubbing at the back of her neck. “Uh, guess I should-”

Weiss, sensing her bandmate might be looking for a way to give them space, acted quickly to delay that just a little longer. “Do you still have your little yellow book?”

Alarm flashed in lilac eyes. “Uh, somewhere around here, why, what’s up?”

“I believe my sister could use a physical therapist who specializes in difficult patients,” she said simply, earning a small glare of Winter.

“Shit, what happened?” Yang immediately came over and knelt down, examining the woman’s prosthetic legs herself. “Oh, and you don’t even have the advanced versions. They don’t have nearly enough articulation to make walking around for long periods comfortable.”

“That… is correct.” Just barely, she could see the beginnings of a blush rising in Winter’s cheeks, though she winced and tried to play it off as a response to pain. “Ah! I’m… tender.”

“Your anchors haven’t been adjusted properly.” The drummer got to her feet. “I’m gonna find that book. It has every single physical therapist and prosthetic technician in all of Remnant who can do emergency work and are good enough to be trusted. I’ll call one up, just hang out here for a little bit.”

As she turned to head into her own bedroom in the suit, Weiss kept her gaze on her sister, waiting until she heard the door close before speaking up. “Really? Yang? I wouldn’t think she’s your type.”

Instantly, Winter jumped on the defensive. “I- I’m just surprised! The last time I saw her, she had pigtails and drew roses on her arm any time she found a sharpie! And- and now-”

“ _Now_ , she’s over five and a half foot of muscle bound blonde goddess with tattoos?” Weiss raised a brow.

“Please don’t tell me you’re going to follow  _that_  closely in their footsteps.” Her sister groused, trying to change the avenue of the conversation. “We never heard the end of it from Mother when Summer and Raven started dating, and now you’re thinking about dating a bandmate too?”

“Oh, I’m afraid that ship’s already set sail.” She smiled, slipping her hand into Blake’s and turning her head to accept a kiss. “We’ve been together almost a year now.”

At first, she just stared. Then Winter threw her hands in the air. “Are you  _fucking_  kidding me! Next, you’re going to tell me you’re thinking of forming a triad-”

“ _That_  is what we were discussing before you came up, actually,” Blake said, their voice smooth with just the barest hint of amusement at the edges. “We both have a little crush on someone.”

“I can’t believe it.” Her sister shook her head slowly, running a hand over her face. “You’re all your mothers’ children, alright.”

“Doesn’t that concern you a little bit?” Weiss opted to needle just a bit more. “I mean, if we  _truly_  follow in RWKS’ footsteps, that means two of us start dating each other and invite a third person into the relationship.” She pointedly shared a glance with Blake. “One of us will get with an amazing roadie.” Her gaze then went to the direction Ruby had gone. “And the last…”

Winter scowled at her. “Yang has better taste than that.”

Sucking a breath in through her teeth, she shrugged. “I certainly hope so. I would hate to see her go for someone like Father-”

Shooting up, her sister nearly fell over but caught herself at the last minute. “I’m going to talk to her. Yang  _certainly_  deserves someone much better than Father and she  _definitely_ has the sense to know that herself.”

While Winter headed back to Yang’s room, Weiss and Blake just barely contained their laughter, whispering to each other once she moved out of earshot.

“You really think she’s into Yang?” Amber eyes sparkled with mischief, a lifetime of indulging in romance novels fueling all sorts of ideas in the Faunus’ head.

“Oh, most definitely.” She nodded. “I haven’t seen the woman in almost a decade but some things never change.” A little curl to her lips. “We’re both rather shit at functioning once confronted with someone we’re attracted to… and we’re rather stubborn about admitting it.”

“Well.” Their lips pulled into a smirk. “At last you got better on that front, yeah?”

“I have  _the best_  partner to coax it out of me,” she replied, popping up onto her tiptoes to lay a kiss on Blake’s lips. “And, for the record? I think it’s a good idea.”

“Oh, really?” They pulled her into a kiss. “We’re in agreement?”

“I like her, she’s nice… but maybe you should be the one to do the talking.” Weiss winced. “Between us, you’ve always been better with… words.”

“Irony.”

“Shut up.” She slipped her arms around her lover’s waist, snuggling into their chest despite her jibe. “You know I get too nervous when it gets personal. Plus, I think Velvet likes you a little more.”

“I think she likes both of us just fine, you’ll see.” Blake chuckled, rubbing their hands up and down her back. “You always think the worst. You should really let it go.”

And suddenly, it clicked. “Paper, I need paper.”

As she released Blake, a pad and pen somehow appeared in her hands, and she jumped towards the coffee table to start scribbling madly… and only distantly heard the conversation that followed.

“Oh, Velvet, I… forgot you were… over there.”

“If you want, I can pretend I didn’t hear anything. I mean, the answer’s yes, of course, but we can all pretend we’re surprised about it.”

Absently, Weiss made a mental note to apologize and properly ask Velvet out with Blake later.

Right now, she had a song to write.

**Author's Note:**

> For the record, the song Weiss writes is the punk rock cover of "Let It Go" by The Last Sleepless City. Y’all, I had to. I had to.


End file.
